Trust Saves
by Abboz
Summary: "Hawkeye, can you hear me?" Clint grinned, turning his head to the right, instinctively drawn to the sound of his partner's voice in his ear. "Yeah, what is it, Nat?" "You've got to get out of there. Now." "What? Why? What's going on?"


Trust Saves

"Hawkeye, can you hear me?"

Clint grinned, turning his head to the right, instinctively drawn to the sound of his partner's voice in his ear. "Yeah, what is it, Nat?"

"You've got to get out of there. _Now._"

"What? Why?" He waited for a reply, but the connection wasn't great and though she'd heard his words, Natasha was too busy listening for a sign that he was leaving as she ran to find him. There were none, just that steady, familiar voice. "What's going on?"

"Forget the assignment. Listen to me and get out. Now, Barton. Get. Out."

"Why? What is it? Talk to me, I don't understand."

"Don't question it, just do it. There's a bomb, and it's going to blow any minute, any second; so if you don't get out, just get out!" Silence; a silence that set her heart racing. "Barton, are you there? Please. Get out of there. Come on. You have to get out. Hawk? Cli-?!"

The sky flashed red before her as the vast explosion overwhelmed her senses, the blast deafeningly loud, resonating in her ears through the comms. Against the instinct to back up she froze, watching the rippling oranges that dominated her view, flames flickering beyond the two imposing buildings she had been just about to head between. Tears threatened to form in her eyes, voice cracking just a little through the soft, quiet, terrified tone. "Clint?"

A croak and then a groan of pain that she'd never thought she'd be glad to hear. "Ugh, Tasha, you could have warned me sooner."

Relieved, she let her breathing return to normal and renewed her quick pace towards the now flaming building. "Are you alright? Where are you? I'm coming your way, not far, a minute max."

"Dove behind a car. Yeah I'm fine."

"Yeah you sound it." The sarcasm more than intentional, she hoped the familiarity would help him relax. "Don't move. I'm coming."

"You've got it, Agent Romanoff." He tried to release the tension in his muscles, then when he thought he heard footsteps, rapid ones, forgot that and turned his head towards their only viable direction. He was rewarded with the pleasant sight of his partner, red hair billowing behind her as she ran. "Tash."

He was too far away to really be heard in any way other than through her earpiece, even without the crackling fire, but nonetheless the sound of his voice told her she was close and focussed her attention onto him. She ran faster, remaining silent until she could make out the features on his face. "It went quiet, I thought you…"

He smiled at her as she drew near, a soft, soothing smile meant to reassure her. "I was kinda busy _getting out_."

Nodding, Natasha knelt down beside him, tenderly touching his head to check his welfare. He let her examine him for a few seconds, leaning into her palms when she needed it. "I didn't know what you were… where you were."

Turning his head back to her, his eyebrows drew together, refusing to look away from her face. She was still inspecting him for fear of injuries, checking his torso for bleeding, so he gently reached up to place his hand on her shoulder, leaning on her to help him sit up. Covering her left hand with his, he made sure she'd stopped and was looking in his eyes. "Tasha, I trust you. If you tell me to get out, I trust you and I listen and I get out. I might question it, want to know why, but I won't hesitate because I know you wouldn't say it if you didn't mean it, if there wasn't a good reason. Our trust saves our lives; we trust each other to let us know what we can't see ourselves, to have our backs, to pull us out of somewhere if we need it, to protect each other but we also trust each other to listen when we need them to, to heed our words and act on them. Doesn't matter that you were scared that I hadn't; you trusted me to listen and get out like you told me, and I trusted you to be sure that I needed to get out, to protect me. Thank you for saving my life."

"Thank you for trusting me."

He beamed, reaching out to her, arms wrapping around her middle to put a touch of pressure on her back and draw her near. "Gently." In response, she tenderly held him back, welcoming the way he rested his forehead against her shoulder. "We should get out of here."

She nodded, unable to deny it though they had to take extra care; whilst as far as she could tell he wasn't badly wounded, he was hardly unscathed. Careful in doing so, she pulled back a little. "You feel alright?"

"Mostly. I will. Just bear with me, I'm gonna need to go a bit slow. Help me up?"

Natasha happily did as he asked, pulling his arm over her shoulders to support him and holding him round the waist. "Not too far, then you can rest. I'll get us home. We'll make it home together."

"I reserve the right to stay in bed for at least two days once we do."

She looked up at him, unable to stop the smile that spread across her face. "After I've checked you properly for concussion."

He grinned in return, having expected a different response from her. "Are you going to take care of me?"

She gave him a small, almost imperceptible nod. "I'm glad you're okay."

Taking advantage of their solitude, he leant into her a little more, touching his lips to her temple. "Me too. Can we order pizza?"

"I'm choosing the toppings."

Clint kissed her again, lips curling against her skin in delight. "I have the best partner there is."


End file.
